Two 3M Bair Hugger System cases were selected for the upcoming trial to begin on or after April 30, on the basis that the plaintiffs involved allegedly suffered infections caused by 3M’s Bair Hugger warming blankets used during their total knee replacement surgeries. Claims made by both the cases are similar that defendants 3M Company and its Arizant Healthcare subsidiary sold a dangerous and defectively designed product that caused severe and debilitating deep joint infections. The selected cases were filed by a plaintiff from South Carolina and a couple from Idaho.
In October 2017, Judge Joan N. Ericksen, presiding over the centralized litigation, MDL No: 2666, in the District of Minnesota, released an order for the case-specific discovery and disposition motions of these cases to be trial-ready by April 30, 2018.
This month, Judge Ericksen denied a defense motion seeking to dismiss a design defect claim made by a plaintiff and also denied the defense request to exclude the plaintiff’s expert witness testimonies. The judge did grant the defense motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s failure to warn claims.
